12

MOFFETT from 1

battalion commander, Lt- Col John McDonough, and the Weapons Company Commander, Captain Matt Kutilek, had both been evacuated to the U.S. with wounds.

Indigenous Training

When not visiting Com-

bat Outposts, I interviewed “targets of opportunity” at the sprawl ing Ma- rine Corps base known

THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, May 6, 2010

as Camp Leatherneck. One such target was Terry Walker. Walker is a retired Chief

Warrant Officer, a former “Division Gunner.” While still on active duty he was tasked with training Iraqi security forces in Al Anbar Province, which at one time was dominated by Sunni/ Baathist intransigents and Al Qaeda. It was consid- ered a lost province. At least until Walker and

the Marines went to work there in earnest. Walker’s Al Anbar se-

curity training academy started slowly, as the Ma- rines had to deal with profound local antipathy when they first arrived on the scene. But following the dictum of “No bet- ter friend, no worse en- emy,” the Marines worked hard at engaging the Iraqi population and eventu- ally gained the trust of the

LtCol. Ridenhour of Warfighting Lab and LtCol. Michael Moffett at a convoy stop.

local sheiks and tribes- men. Enrollment grew at the training academy. Eventually the Sunnis aligned with the Marines and turned on Al Qaeda. This “Awakening,” which coincided with a “surge” in troops helped turn around the Iraq conflict. Since retired, Walker is

now at Camp Leatherneck doing similar work – as a training advisor and men- tor for the fledgling Afghan security forces, both police and army. His title is “As- sistant to the General for Indigenous Training.” Blunt and old-school,

Walker relishes his role, is optimistic, and doesn’t suffer fools gladly – espe- cially politicians. “People used to visit our

training site in Iraq and talk about how we were losing,” said Walker. “Big politicians said the war was lost. Even some Ma- rines were pessimistic. But I told them that I knew we were going to win. They thought I was crazy. But I said to look at all the people who wanted to train with us. When we first got there, they wanted to kill us.

It was obvious that we

were successfully connect- ing with the Iraqis. Once the people saw how we cared about them I knew it was only a matter of time before we prevailed. I see a similar thing happening here in Afghanistan.” Walker explained that

when an Afghan came to his Training Academy it

meant defying the Tali- ban, who’d stepped up a campaign of intimidation, murder, and beheadings after being displaced from Marjah. And still the locals volunteered for training, in ever-increasing numbers, despite the threats to them and their families. “We’ve shown we care

about them and that we’ll be around for a while,” said Walker. “We’re going to win this together, just like in Iraq.”

IED

After interviewing Ma-

rines at W/2/2’s Patrol Base Gorgak in Laki, I sat against a structure in the compound there and went over my notes. Then … BOOM! An explosion shook the compound. “Get on your Kevlar and flaks!” yelled a senior en- listed Marine, and troops went for their helmets and body armor.

I grabbed my

own helmet and assumed we were being hit by indi- rect mortar fire.

I realized

I’d been sitting next to the ammo supply point/maga- zine and decided to move elsewhere. A sentry on the wall said

there was smoke on the road just to the east of the compound. It turned out a vehicle and trailer had set off an IED. An Explosive Ordinance Dis- posal (EOD) team went to the site to check for other IEDs and clear the area,

See MOFFETT on 13 Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35